It was a roughly a month and a half ago when my girlfriend surprised me with a daytrip to Wisconsin’s Summerfest. For those outside of America, Summerfest is widely regarded as one of the largest music festivals in the country, lasting roughly 10 days and boasting 1,000+ bands on over 12 stages, or something like that. This year’s edition was staggered over three weekends in September, with the first night being kicked off by none other than Queensrÿche. It had been a couple years since I last saw my beloved prog metal heroes, so I was thrilled to see them again. Needless to say, they left such an impression that I decided to see them again this month at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois, and this time I brought my camera with.
My biggest takeaway from both the Summerfest show and this past Saturday’s show is that a year and a half off the road is just what this band needed, especially singer Todd La Torre. These songs are no easy task to sing on a nightly basis, even for the most skilled of singers. 18 months of rest has done La Torre good because he’s singing these songs with the most fire and passion I’ve heard since he initially joined the band almost a decade ago. The rest of the band sounds extremely tight as well, considering the unexpected departure of guitarist Parker Lundgren. Former guitarist Mike Stone has returned to the fold in a live capacity, making one wonder if he’s returned full time. His in sync playing with fellow six stringer Michael Wilton would have you believe so.
Setlist wise, this was about as much as a diehard Queensrÿche fan could ask for: all the hits, a smattering of deep tracks (FUCKING “PROPHECY”!!!), and a couple songs off their last album, The Verdict (2019), for good measure. The only difference between this setlist and Summerfest’s was this time around they played “Best I Can” and “The Mission”, the latter always being a special treat when they include it in the setlist. At Summerfest, they played “The Needle Lies” and “The Whisper”. You gotta love it when a band of this stature mixes it up every night, making it even more fun for us fans.
Despite the good, the bad, and the ugly that has come their way, Queensrÿche continues to be one of the premiere live metal acts today. With Rush residing in Valhalla and Savatage in indefinite limbo, they’ve rightfully assumed their status as the reigning high priests of prog metal. What will you do when revolution comes calling?
Setlist
- “Best I Can”
- “Walk in the Shadows”
- “Prophecy”
- “Blood of the Levant”
- “I Am I”
- “Man the Machine”
- “The Lady Wore Black”
- “Breaking the Silence”
- “I Don’t Believe in Love”
- “The Mission”
- “Silent Lucidity”
- “Jet City Woman”
- “Take Hold of the Flame”
- “Queen of the Reich”
- “Eyes of a Stranger”
Encore
- “Operation: Mindcrime”
- “Screaming in Digital”
- “Empire”
Always look forward to your reviews, especially when I attended the same show! This is spot on.
Hello,
I read your comments about the New Queensryche. The band to me is nothing more than a cover band. LaTorre struggles with notes that made Geoff Tate stand out as the worlds Top 10 All Time Best Singers List. LaTorre is a mosh pit band singer. I saw the new Queensryche band. I have to be honest, LaTorre was screaming, not singing. The rest of the band missed notes and as to their energy level, well there was none. The show was a let down, a disgrace to be honest. I did listen to the bands new songs and LaTorre was spot on. I went to a Geoff Tate show last month in Ohio. WOW, What a show. Of course Tate can’t hit the 90s note but he was crystal clear and spot on. Tate has a new band with young musicians, they were full of energy as where the current Queensryche band members looked out out it. Either they partied too much the night before or they were on something. The Geoff Tate band had so much energy with the young musicians….Just goes to show you that bands can replace musicians but they can not replace the original singer, or should I say GEOFF TATE…
There’s no denying that Tate’s shoes are near impossible to fill. I know many in your camp. However, I feel La Torre has done an excellent job attempting to carve his own niche into the Queensrÿche legacy, with three solid albums to his name. Yes, they’ve gotten heavier/more modern with each record, but that’s creative evolution. As for Geoff, he too has come out of this rather strong. Similar to Ian Gillan, instead of pushing his vocals to the point of no return (i.e. Paul Stanley), he’s making the most of what he has at his age, which is tone and clarity, even if the range isn’t what it was. I say everyone’s a winner here. Queensrÿche is still going strong and so is Geoff. I’ll continue to support both as long as they keep releasing music worthwhile.
Love the pictures. I’ve seen the band many times and they bring it every time. I don’t care about the drama behind the scenes I am there to escape life’s drama and just be entertained and listen to the amazing music.